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Ani DiFranco: Righteous Mom

Maverick folk-punk icon Ani DiFranco has made a career out of keeping her fans on their toes with provocative lyrics and stylistic departures, but even her longtime fans were probably a little startled by the news that their heroine, a staunch feminist and onetime lesbian, is now an expecting mother.

The 35-year-old singer announced her pregnancy while accepting the Woman of Courage award on Friday (July 21) from the National Organization of Women at their annual convention in Albany, New York. In presenting the award, NOW vice-president Latifa Lyles praised DiFranco for both her music and her independent ideals -- no doubt referring to the musician's record label, Righteous Babe, which she founded in 1990 after more mainstream record labels rejected her scrappy, confrontational music and lyrics.

DiFranco is the first musician to receive the award, whose past recipients have included Senator Barbara Boxer, entertainer Barbra Streisand, and Vagina Monologues playwright Eve Ensler.

DiFranco told the convention crowd that she's due in February and that the father of the child, her first, is Mike Napolitano, who produced her latest album, Reprieve. That album, due out August 8th, is her eighteenth release on Righteous Babe Records.

--The ARTISTdirect Staff
07.24.06